Saskatoon's new parking app 'every city councillor's nightmare,' Davies says
Ward 4 Coun. Troy Davies doesn't pull punches when it comes to describing the rollout of Saskatoon's new parking app.
"Unfortunately, it's like every city councillor's nightmare. You go into July and all of a sudden you have a parking app that isn't working probably the way that it should," Davies said Tuesday on CTV Morning Live.
June 30 marked the last day for WayToPark, the app previously used by the city. The app was "discontinued by the vendor," according to the city.
The new app, ParkedIn, went live in June, and users reported bugbears such as having to re-enter license plate and credit card information each time you want to park, consistent freezing and crashing of the app, and the amount of data the app collects from users.
According to the city, some of the improvements in the works include the ability to store credit card information "without completing an initial transaction with the app" and extending parking time.
The fixes are expected to be rolled out in July by Precise ParkLink, the company behind the app.
"We had reports that they do know of the issues that are happening and that they're working on it, but from the City Council perspective or the city perspective, we didn't have any say in this and it was the vendor who changed apps," Davies said.
"So there are definitely growing pains going on here and they've got to be fixed. So the city has heard loud and clear that this is an issue and needs to be fixed, basically now."
He said people experiencing problems should contact City Hall, and that council is "very interested" in how the app will be handled.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
China rebukes U.S., Canadian navies for Taiwan Strait transit
China's military rebuked the United States and Canada for 'deliberately provoking risk' after the countries' navies staged a rare joint sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

Alcohol policies in every province, territory receive failing grade in meeting public health standards: report
A new report has found that alcohol policies in all provinces and territories are failing to meet public health standards.
Four kids and one man drown after Quebec fishing accident: provincial police
A fishing excursion ended in tragedy on Saturday when four children died in a village in northeastern Quebec, provincial police said.
Antipsychotic drugs use increased in Canadian long-term care homes, pointing to possible quality-of-care issues: study
New study finds increase in antipsychotic drugs use in long-term care homes across Canada, despite no significant increase in behavioural symptoms – something that may expose a potential area of concern for quality of care, researchers say.
Officials declare Halifax-area wildfire largely contained as rain brings relief
Heavy rain and some military reinforcements arrived to assist efforts on Saturday to quell the wildfires that have destroyed homes and caused the evacuation of thousands of people across Nova Scotia.
Forest fires in Northern Quebec: Another 2,000 evacuated from their homes
Another northern Quebec town was evacuated due to an out of control wildfire on Saturday as the federal government confirmed that Canadian Forces personnel would be deployed to help combat forest fires in the province.
'Very good outcome' for sale of Ottawa Senators expected in the next few weeks, NHL Commissioner says
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says the process to sell the Ottawa Senators is moving forward as "quickly as possible," and the New York-based company overseeing the sale is advising to "expect a very good outcome in the next few weeks."
Fighting climate change or funding fossil fuels? America wants it 'both ways': U.S. ambassador
The U.S. Ambassador to Canada says America 'absolutely wants to have it both ways' when it comes to fighting climate change while pursuing fossil fuel projects.
More than 5,000 new species discovered at future deep-sea mining site in Pacific Ocean
More than 5,000 new species have been discovered at an expansive future deep-sea mining site in the Pacific Ocean.